Just Arsenal News

The England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that he would have liked to have Jack Wilshere in his squad if Arsenal hadn’t declared him unfit, but he insists that he has no argument with Arsene Wenger over his refusing to release the Gunners midfielder.

Hodgson said: “The thing about club managers is they’ve got another job to do,” Hodgson told reporters. “That conflict is always going to be there, between club and national team, because people will want them to be there playing for them. But I don’t have any ­criticisms of them. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal were thought to be on the verge of signing a big, strong, tough tackling defensive midfielder in the summer, with Yann M’Vila and Etienne Capoue two of the favourites. The window opened and closed and Arsenal, despite having money to spend did not sign an enforcer.

Arsene Wenger had said that he would only buy a player who would improve the squad, so does that mean he thought there were no defensive midfielders good enough? Or did he think that Arsenal do not need such a player?

Wenger has spoken about the changing nature of the game of football in England and in Europe and he seems to be suggesting that the make up, playing style and physical attributes of midfielders is evolving. .......Read the full article here

Just over a year after buying Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton, senior figures at Arsenal are ready to give the 19-year old England international a new and improved contract as a reward for his fantastic, form and improvement since coming to the Emirates. The Ox works as hard as his namesake and has got a brilliant attitude.

Due to the exceptional players in the Arsenal midfield this season and the formations used by Arsene Wenger, Ox has not played as much as he might have expected for the Gunners, but he was looking a little tired after a long season and summer. .......Read the full article here

Santi Cazorla has been outstanding for Arsenal since moving from La Liga side Malaga in the summer. His name was unfamiliar to many people in this country and their is a common assumption that he is struggling to get a place in the Spanish national side. Cazorla may get a rare start this week as Spain travel to Belarus for the first of two World Cup qualifiers, the second being against France.

Spain are blessed with lots of talented midfielders, many of whom have similar playing styles, such as Iniesta, Fabregas, Silva and Xavi. Cazorla could get the nod, however, with his Arsenal performances drawing interest all over the world. Cazorla has already got 48 caps for Spain and two European championship winner’s medals. .......Read the full article here

The Netherlands manager Louis Van Gaal has picked Robin Van Persie for the game against Belgium next Wednesday, but he has admitted that the only reason he picked the Arsenal captain is because RVP has told him he will be playing at least 45 minutes for the Gunners today against Lukas Podolski’s old club Koln.

van Gaal said: “Robin will play his first game this Sunday. He has told me he is at least going to play 45­ ­minutes this weekend.

“It is a good job, because I almost had not selected him.”

“This is the only time I’ll pick Van Persie and Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart while they are not fit. .......Read the full article here

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson can hardly wait for the season to start, and that has to be a good thing. 20-year old Jenkinson and 18-year old Oxlade-Chamberlain began their Arsenal careers at almost the same time after joining the club last summer but had different amounts of success.

Jenkinson made an impressive start and was making progress filling in for Sagna but was unfortunately sidelined for three months with a back injury. The youngster was impressive in the Markus Liebherr memorial cup at the weekend, setting up Henri Lansbury for his goal. Jenkinson is desperate to succeed at Arsenal as he and his family are lifelong Gooners. .......Read the full article here

Nicklas Bendtner did Arsenal a favour at Euro 2012. He put himself in the shop window with some performances that Gooners must have thought beyond him. He wasn’t good enough for Arsenal to want to keep him, that ship sailed a long time ago, but he will earn the Gunners a transfer fee.

The 24-year old and his Danish team mates can consider themselves unlucky to have been eliminated at the group stages. Bendtner’s two goals along with his hold up play have drawn “global interest” according to his agent. The Paddy Power underpants stunt also gave him lots of publicity and it seems to have paid off. .......Read the full article here

The ex-England star Gareth Southgate, who is now heavily involved with the FA and is tipped to be their next technical director is a bit worried about the future of the senior England side, and doesn’t think there enough home-grown stars being brought through in the Premiership compared to the other big European teams.

He said: “If I look at who was on the bench for Spain and Germany at Euro 2012 and then at various Under-21s and Under-19s, that’s what we have to aim towards.

“Roy Hodgson brought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in, who could still play now for our Under-19s, and, of course, there is Wilshere. .......Read the full article here

The newest Arsenal signing Olivier Giroud was playing in the lower levels of the French League just a few years ago, and one of his team-mates was another aspiring young defender called Laurent Koscielny, who went on to join Arsenal after just one season in Ligue 1.

The two Frenchman remained friends and both of them have elevated themselves to the French national team, and are now set to be team-mates at the mighty Arsenal. Giroud explained how Koscielny’s rapid rise inspired him and how he told him all about life at the Emirates which made him want to join him in London. .......Read the full article here

What is there past M’Vila? by KJ

Alright, so my most recent article today is discussing what exactly is happening with regards to M’Vila coming to Arsenal and it isn’t looking great. However, I’m still confident that we’ll see the young Frenchman in our famous red and white next season.

But Arsene’s job is to make sure he has enough players scouted and interested if this transfer falls through. Anything is possible in football at the moment. Considering all the reports, there are only 2 defensive midfielders who Arsenal are interested in getting if this M’Vila deal does fall through: .......Read the full article here

Lukas Podolski gave Gooners an early summer treat by signing for Arsenal before last season was even finished. He will be giving us a lot more treats once he moves to England, not least the chance to check out his gorgeous wife Monika.

Monika Podolski, formerly Puchalski so she didn’t have to change her name much, married Arsenal’s German international in 2011. The couple have a four year old son and were together for years before tying the knot.

From the photos I have seen, Podolski has every reason to be happy. We all hope that his success scoring off the pitch will be replicated on it. It is also obvious why Podolski did not move to Chelsea where his wife would come within reach of a certain Mr. Terry! .......Read the full article here

If that is the answer, what was the question? by Richard B

Things have been pretty slow in terms of Arsenal news of late. There has been the usual amount of gossip and speculation but, with the Euros still ongoing there has been little in the way of actual substance. With the knockout matches well underway, and July 1st fast approaching, the chances of things moving forward, both in regard to transfers and contract negotiations, is getting better by the day.

There are reports concerning Arséne Wenger and him boasting about how much he could be paid to go elsewhere. Or at least that’s one way of looking at it. The direct quote is below; .......Read the full article here